


Tangled Up

by authentic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ballroom Dancing, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-12 05:58:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19223041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authentic/pseuds/authentic
Summary: Soulmarks are complicated enough.Dance partnerships are complicated enough.Put them together and who knows what you'll get?HIATUS I will be back eventually I promise





	1. The Basics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original plan was just a soulmate story... I'm couldn't help it. The dance just happened.

Soulmates are fickle things… not every person has one, and not everyone that has one meets their soulmate. Furthermore, not everyone who meets their so-called soulmate finds happiness in that relationship. Everyone knows that, but knowledge doesn’t stop people from dreaming now does it?

The moment Lance first discovered his mark, a tiny black cat on his lower back, he’d run to his mom screaming excitedly - hardly making any sense as words quickly tumbled from his five-year-old mouth. She’d simply smiled and told him that she'd already known, but had wanted him to discover it on his own. She also encouraged him to be quiet about it. Of course, she wanted him to be happy, but her worry about what other people would say if they found out had her quieting him. They did so well that it wasn't until Lace was 15 that even his siblings found out. The moment the words “Tramp stamp” left his older brothers mouth Lance vowed to ever mention his soulmark again. He knew the likelihood of finding them and falling in love wasn't high, and he didn't want to be caught a hopeless romantic with his head in the clouds. Instead, he focussed on dance and being the best he could be. He quickly rose as a star in his studio where he met and became close friends with Hunk.

Keith, on the other hand, didn’t see his mark until he was 14. He’d just moved in with Shiro and his family and had the little black outline of a cat pointed out to him by Shiro's friend Matt. He’d been so startled he couldn't even suppress the glimmer of hope that began to grow in his heart. He vowed to one day find whoever it connected him to. A month later he was officially adopted and enrolled in his first dance class since his parents died 5 years earlier. He was able to pick it all back up quickly, and soon got jumped up a few levels where he met Pidge.

Both boys quickly singled out ballroom as their favorite style, whether it be Latin or Standard. When they learned that the Voltron dance crew was holding auditions (for every slot after the early retirement of the previous crew) they both immediately knew they had to be a part of it. The crew was the top, and everyone knew it. They had only 6 members and a coach, and just like the boys they mainly focussed on ballroom while still staying up in all the other styles. Being on that team would be a dream come true for any dancer - which meant there would be A LOT of competition to make the team, but each boy was determined to not only make it themselves but pull their best friend (and in one case brother) along with them.

So… let's go to two weeks after graduation - where our story _really_ begins.


	2. The Audition

“Hu nk!” Lance calls out as he jogs up behind the other boy. “Can you believe it? We’re actually here!”

Hunk chuckles in reply and slings his free arm around Lance’s shoulders. “I hardly can! We made it past the first three rounds! Even if we don’t make the team we got to the top 100!”

“We’re gonna make it! I promise!” Lance states confidently as they join the large group of waiting dancers. Even at the early hour of 5 am, every dancer looks wide-eyed and ready. 

The two boys quickly settled into a warmup routine after checking in and pinning on their numbers, to stretch out each muscle carefully. No one knew for sure how long the auditions would be, and neither boy wanted to have to drop early because of an injury. 

Lance took the time to look around and scope out some of the competition. He was immediately drawn to a small group of three - two muscular, black-haired boys, one lean the other bulkier, and a third tiny person (he honestly couldn’t tell the gender and didn’t want to guess and risk getting it wrong) - and a gorgeous girl with a long white ponytail. 

At exactly 5:30 an energetic man with bright orange hair bustled into the room - the coach known as Coran. Immediately every dancer stood at attention.

“Welcome everyone! I’m so glad you all could make it!” He began brightly. “I hope you all ate a fulfilling breakfast and brought lots of water, we have a long day ahead of us. Now, before we begin, remember that you all signed a form to not reveal anything about the audition today, which you received with your email about being in the top 100….” He paused and looked over the dancers to the check-in desk, only continuing after the girl nodded in confirmation that everyone had, indeed, signed the form before checking in. “Ok! Now that we have that settled, let me begin. We will start this morning with a contemporary routine that will help show off your flexibility and mobility as dancers. You will have until 8 am to get the routine down to near perfection, and small groups will present it to my anonymous panel of judges. by noon at least half of you will be cut.” He paused a moment to allow the group to settle that in their minds. “Those who remain will have an hour to eat and get ready for the next round.”

Two and a half later clothing littered the edges of the large dance floor, every dancer down to shorts, tank tops, and the sheen of sweat. Numbers had been moved to each dancer's right hip.

At exactly 8 they lined up in numerical order and were taken in as groups of 2-3 dancers. Hu nk was in one of the early groups and Lance blows him a kiss on the way out the door to wish him luck, not that he needs it. He’d picked up the routine beautifully. 

The tall boy stretches out his back and settles against the wall, closing his eyes to think through the routine. (To make things fairer, no one is allowed to practice once the first group left.)

In seemingly no time at all, he heard “numbers 80 and 81 you’re up!” He took a deep breath as he stood. He’d ended up in a group of two, and didn’t know if that was good or bad…

It was only when they walked onto the stage that he realized the other dancer was the lean and muscular boy from before. He gave himself a moment to appreciate the pretty lines of his features before turning to the starting position. 

The music starts and Lance immediately feels the excitement in his veins. Yeah, they just learned the routine, but it’s short and simple and he  _ knows _ he’s good at it. There are so many opportunities for him to show off both his strength and flexibility. 

He flows through the routine easily… but at the end, the music doesn’t stop. 

He quickly realizes the judges are expecting improve, as no good dancer  _ only  _ knows how to follow a mold. He comes quickly up to his toes and throws in a quick turn… running directly into the other boy coming from a similar move. They shoot daggers at each other with their eyes and realize that now they have to roll with it. 

The boy grabs Lance around the waist and spins him around. They move together until the music shuts off, Lance carefully listening to every tell from the other boy - even just the slightest movement of the fingertips. 

They quickly step away from each other and vow before walking from the stage. 

As soon as they’re out the door Lance runs for Hunk, completely missing how to other boy reaches out to try and talk to him. 

Before he knows it, the clock reads 10 pm and they are down to 10 people. He is completely exhausted and wishes dearly to collapse to the floor. They’ve done the contemporary round where they lost 45 people. Then there was a solo cha cha routine where they lost 20. Then a lifting workshop, they didn’t audition this one just showed what they could do. Lance was rather proud to show he could easily be either the lifter or the lifty, and rather impressed that the boy from earlier could also, granted he was better at lifting than being lifted - he could do it though, that’s what matters. After that, they cut 6 people. A hip hop round lost them 10. A tap round lost them 4. The most recent round was a ballet round that lost them 5. (Lance had proudly done that round on pointe, along with only 3 other people.)

So… 10 people. There were the four he’d scoped out before - the small one, the white-haired girl (one of the pointe dancers), and the two black-haired boys (the smaller of which he’d begun to refer to in his mind as ‘pretty boy’ after dancing with him) - himself, Hunk, the other two pointe dancers, a blonde boy, and girl with a pink pixie cut. 

“Alright, everyone!” Coran says excitedly. “This will be the final round. Within two hours you will know whether or not you are one of the lucky 6. This round is my favorite. You will be paired up and given an hour to come up with a routine that will then be presented to the judges. Both you and your partner must look good because we will only be taking people in pairs. You make it, so does your partner. Your partner doesn’t, neither do you.” He doesn't say it, but this round was designed specifically to test teamwork. It would be impossible to have a solid team with people unwilling to work together. He smiles. “So. Without further ado. Number 11. Come forward and draw a partner, said partner will draw a song.” 

Hunk, being number 11, steps forward and reaches into the outstretched hat. He pulled out a paper and unfolded it. “52?”

The small person steps forward, the 52 on their hip. “Hey! I’m Pidge!” they say as they stick out their hand.

Hunk shakes it and replies, “I’m Hunk.”

Another hat is stuck out and Pidge reaches in to draw a CD.

Next pixie cut girl, who introduces herself as Lana, gets one of the pointe dancers, who introduces herself as Mia. 

Then blonde boy, Tyler, and the other random pointe girl, Ryla. 

Then the white-haired girl, Allura, got the larger black haired boy, Shiro.

Lance smiles when he realizes that only left pretty boy. 

He holds out his hand with a smile, “The names Lance.”

The other boy pointedly ignores his hand and says, “Keith.”

Very soon after that, every pair is ushered into a separate room with only their partner and CD. 

“Ok. Let’s get to work.” Keith says, Lance just nods, knowing the other boy is upset with him for some reason but unsure why.

Keith places the CD in the player and immediately “Sweet Dreams” starts playing through the room. The section they get is just over a minute long. 

Lance quickly sits himself cross-legged on a table, earning him a glare. 

“What?” He says, returning the glare, “I don’t know what I did to upset you, but I’m sitting because I’m tired, and because this is a partner routine it probably won’t be the best idea to just start lead and follow. So come sit and we’ll talk.”

Keith grumbles but comes and sits on the table next to him. 

“Ok.” Lance says, “I don’t know about you, but I think this could make a cool jazz routine. And before you say anything, yes I know this is mainly a ballroom team, but I don’t think this is a good ballroom song.”

Keith nods. “We also need to make sure we have something unique to stand out. Shiro and Allura were partners for a few years a short while back, so they have this in the bag. Pidge is amazing and I don’t doubt they’ll make it. So what do we do?”

Lance quickly made a mental note of the small person's pronoun before answering. “I think our best shot is to play to our strengths, which is easy to do in jazz. My biggest sell is my flexibility.”

“I’d say show that off for sure, and I’m strong so those could work well together.”

They both fall silent and simply think.

Lance looks down. “The table!”

Keith looks at him in question. 

“The table, Keith. It’s sturdy as hell and could give us a memorable prop.”

“Ok. I like it.”

Quickly they jump up and start testing out a few moves and the true stability of the table. Keith’s initial anger melts away. An hour later the two have a pretty great routine - not to pat themselves on the back or anything. 

There’s a knock on the door and Coran comes in. “You boys ready?” They nod and Coran let’s out a small chuckle when he sees the table in the middle of the floor, Lance perched on top. “Let’s hope you can get that out the door, yeah?”

Keith and Lance look at each other in sudden panic as Coran walks away and they see the other pairs starting to gather in the hall.

“I didn’t even think about that.”

After a moment of indecision, they leave it in the room to go meet with the other dancers and pray they aren’t first. 

“Alright, kids!” Coran says, “We’re gonna do this in numerical order, so… That means 11 and 52 you’re first!” 

Pidge and Hunk step forward and high-five. 

“Good luck!” Keith and Lance say at the same time. Their friends wave back at them and walk onstage. 

“The rest of you, wait here.” Coran says, then looks at the boys, “You can go get that if you need.” Then he walks away. 

Lance grabs Keith and they run back into their room and pick up the table. It takes them until all the way through the second group to maneuver it out of the room, and they can’t help but feel lucky the got it out at all. Especially lucky because the stage has a set of double doors and there will be no issue getting it onstage. 

Then they just sit on the table until their turn. 

By the time everyone is done it’s only 11:25. So they all sit in a circle and Lance starts a game of never have I ever. It takes a little convincing, but he gets everyone when he argues that if the majority of them will be teammates by the end of the night. 

Each person starts with five fingers and laughter follows as everyone slowly puts their fingers down for random things. 

Pidge starts it with, “never have I ever been arrested.” and a devilish grin at Keith.

Both of them are startled when Lance puts a finger down as well. 

“It’s not my fault! I was home alone and my neighbor didn’t know I hadn’t gone out of town with my family. So when I locked myself out they called the cops!”

Everyone laughs and Keith goes next. “Never have I ever had a treehouse.”

Lana, Mia, Lance, and Pidge all put a finger down.

Tyler is next. “Never have I ever… Cheated on a test.”

Everyone else puts a finger down with a small roll of the eyes. 

The questions get more wild for a bit, ranging from never tried to cut their own hair, to never jumping from a roof, to never “doing it” with a dance partner. 

Lance is quite relieved when everyone but Mia and Tyler keep their fingers up.

Then, quite suddenly once again, Coran bursts into the room, right as the clock strikes midnight.

“Well, well, well.” He says, “We have a new team. Everyone, please file onto the stage one at a time in numerical order. Six of you will be blindfolded and taken to another room after you’re told, the other four will be sent home. As for the six of you, don’t talk to each other. We want you all to find out at the same time.”

From there it only takes 6 minutes before Lance is called onstage - the only ones behind him are Keith, Allura, and Ryla. 

He takes a deep breath and steps into the light.

“Lance McClain!” He hears from somewhere in the dark auditorium. “You have… been selected!” 

He nearly cries in excitement as he’s suddenly grabbed from behind and a blindfold pulled over his eyes. He’s led away and sat in a chair. 

Not even 3 minutes later Coran shows up, “Alrighty, everyone!” He says, “Take off your blindfolds in… 3… 2… 1!”

Lance yanks the blindfold off and blinks at the sudden brightness.

First, he sees Hunk, directly across from him and nearly cries again. They really did it! 

Then there’s Keith next to him. Pidge high fiving Hunk, and Shiro and Allura. 

There is so much joy in the room it’s tangible.

Coran quickly quiets them. “I know you’re all excited! I am too! But I would like us all to be able to go home and sleep after this long day. So. First things first, in two days time we will have our first team dinner. Then next Monday we will move you all into the dorms. Starting Tuesday we have training and classes. I’ll send out more details in an email, but for tonight let me get a picture to announce you to the world."

And so, the group all squeezes in, arms around each other and smiles on their faces. They don’t look great after dancing and sweating for hours, but that picture quickly becomes each of their favorites. 

After all, they’re a family now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Contemporary Routine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBowksYVtRQ) I honest to god fell in love with the front dancer in the first group and the front dancer in the third. The way the move. akfjahdsflkjsadflka  
> And in case you were wondering[Keith and Lance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgI0jJakskw) did this routine  
> [Hunk and Pidge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PxNCM1Yfps)  
> [Shiro and Allura](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMSE-bn5aQE)  
> Just ignore the costumes cause it's an audition duh


End file.
